Method of loosening seeds in and sectionizing citrus fruit



R. POLK, JR 3,117,604

METHOD OF LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIONIZING CITRUS FRUIT Jan. 14, 1964 19 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed April 23, 1958 K mm m R .m .om

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Jan. 14, 1964 METHOD OF LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIONIZING CITRUS FRUIT l9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed April 23, 1958 INVENTOR RALPH POLK, JR.

ATTORNEY Jan. 14, 1964 R. POLK, JR 3,117,604

METHOD OF LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIONIZING CITRUS FRUIT Original Filed April 23, 1958 19 Sheets-Sheet 3 a INVENTOR RALPH POLK, JR.

ATTORNEY R. POLK, JR 3,117,604

19 Sheets-Sheet 4 n v m J, u T m R N O O 4 E P T a R m H T o o o l w A 5 8 6 5 m $6 v bm yl Y B a F. 923 2 Jan. 14, 1964 METHOD OF LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIONIZING CITRUS FRUIT Original Filed April 23, 1958 I'll-lull R. POLK, JR

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Jan. 14, 1964 R. POLK, JR 3,117,604

METHOD OF LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIONIZING CITRUS FRUIT Original Filed April 25, 1958 19 Sheets-Sheet 6 T'Il3 ll INVENTOR RALPH FOLK, JR.

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ATTORNEY Jan. 14, 1964 R. POLK, JR 3,117,604

METHOD OF LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIONIZING CITRUS FRUIT Original Filed April 23, 1958 19 Sheets-Sheet 7 FII3 12 a INVENTOR 303 RALPH POLK, JR.

ATTORNEY BYMM R. POLK, JR

Jan. 14, 1964 METHOD OF LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIONIZING CITRUS FRUIT 19 Sheets-Sheet 8 Original Filed April 23, 1958 INVENTOR RALPH POLK,JR.

ATTORNEY R. POLK, JR

Jan. 14, 1964 METHOD OF LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIONIZING CITRUS FRUIT Original Filed April 25, 1958 19 Sheets-Sheet 9 mmr ATTORNEY omw R. POLK, JR 3,117,604

'METHOD OF LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIONIZING cnaus FRUIT Jan. 14, 1964 19 Sheets-Sheet 10 Original Filed April 23, 1958 INVENTOR RALPH POLK, JR.

BY her w ATTO RNEY Jan. 14, 1964 R. POLK, JR 3, 7, 0

METHOD OF LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIONIZING CITRUS FRUIT Original Filed April 23, 1958 19 Sheets-Sheet 11 INVENTOR RALPH POLK, JR.

ATTORNEY Jan. 14, 1964 R. POLK, JR

METHOD OF LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIONIZING CITRUS FRUIT l9 Sheets-Sheet 12 Original Filed April 25, 1958 INVENTOR 362 RALPH POLK, JR. 338

LL BY W ATTORNEY Jan. 14, 1964 R. POLK, JR 3,117,604

mmnoo 0F LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIONIZING CITRUS FRUIT Original Filed April 23, 1958 l 19 Sheets-Sheet 13 INVENTOR RALPH POLK, JR.

ATTORNEY Jan. 14, 1964 R. POLK, JR 3,117,604

METHOD OF LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIONIZING CITRUS FRUIT Original Filed April 25, 1958 19 Sheets-Sheet 14 F'IIE|' El1 t '1 il u u if I I 495 c INVENTOR RALPH POLK, JR.

ATTORNEY Jan. 14, 1964 R. POLK, JR 3,117,604

METHOD OF LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIQNIZING CITRUS FRUIT Original Filed April 23, 1958 19 Sheets-Sheet 15 3 m Q3 it Q} m MO 7: n:

O m $3 N H 19 I uo m 3 5 3 3 \N m g m *0 m m m H I I F INVENTOR RALPH POLKJR.

BY/Ww ATTORN EY P E F Jan. 14, 1964 R. POLK, JR 3,117,604

METHOD OF LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIONIZING CITRUS FRUIT Original Filed April 23, 1958 19 Sheets-Sheet 16 F'II3 :3EI

INVENTOR RALPH POLK, JR.

BY ,gew, ie/W.

ATTO RNEY R. POLK, JR

Jan. 14, 1964 METHOD OF LOOSENING SEEDS IN AND SECTIONIZING CITRUS FRUIT l9 Sheets-Sheet 19 Original Filed April 23, 1958 INVENTOR 1 IE .ILEI

RALPH POLK, JR.

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ATTORNEY F'IE 15.

United States Patent Office 3,117,694 Patented Jan. 14, 19 34 3,117,604 METHOD OF LOOSENING 333E135 IN AND SECTIONKZING CITRUS FRUIT Ralph Polk, In, Box 3268, Tampa, Fla.

Griginal application Apr. 23, 1958, Se No. 739,298, now Patent No. 3,036,990, dated Apr. 24, 1962. Divided and this application ll iay 31, 1961, Ser. No. 113,933

11 Claims. (Cl. 146-236) The present application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 730,298, filed April 23, 1958, now Patent No. 3,030,990.

This invention pertains to the processing of fruit and more particularly relates to improved method of sectionizing citrus fruit, such as grapefruit.

The meat or juice-bearing portion of citrus fruit is composed of groups of interconnected juice sacs, each group being in the form of a segmental section which is surrounded by a membrane. The portions of the segment wall, which extend more or less radially from the pithy core of the whole fruit and define the plane faces of the segment, are referred to as radial membranes, while the portion of the segment wall which lies adjacent the peel of the fruit and defines the spherical face of the segment is called the outer membrane.

In the citrus fruit industry, sectionizing as an operation by which the naturally-shaped, membrane-free meat segments are removed from citrus fruit, particulanly grapefruit, and this operation is generally performed by first peeling off the outer skin and albedo, subjecting the fruit to a hot lye treatment to remove the outer membrane from the segments, and stripping individually the segmental juice sac groups from their radial membranes. The stripping operation is usually carried out manually by inserting a blade between the meat segment and each radial membrane and cutting the meat segment loose. Such manual sectionizing is inefficient since the speed at which the operators must work makes it impossible for them to handle small irregular meat segments or to carefully cut loose even the larger meat segments.

lachines previously proposed for sectionizing grapefruit have met with limited success due to the fact that the segments in grapefruits vary in number between nine and sixteen in the average fruit and usually are of unequal size and shape. in addition, the radial membranes seldom extend in true radial directions or in flat planes. These and other variable characteristics of the fruit make it difficult to use a sectionizing machine to obtain wellformed, membrane-free meat segments in their natural size without excessive rupturing of the juice sacs of the meat.

The present invention provides a method which is par ticularly adapted to efficiently sectionize grapefruit. In accordance with the teaching of the present invention, a first set of flat blades is moved down into a grapefruit at points encircling the central core of the fruit, each blade being inserted between two adjacent radial membranes of the fruit at the apex t -shaped meat segment enclosed by the membranes. When the blades have penetrated a short distance into the grapefruit, each blade is positively moved laterally toward one of the membranes to contact or find the membrane. Then the down-ward movement of the blades axially of the grapefruit is resumed and, when the blades have penetrated through the grapefruit, each blade is positively turned to a position generally parallel to the radial membrane and is moved toward the periphery of the grapefruit while it is resiliently pressed against the membrane. The lateral movement of each blade, to seek out and contact a membrane before the blade is moved toward the periphery, prevents the cutting of the meat segments at any point other than adjacent a membrane. Also, the positive turning of each blade after the membrane has been contacted prevents rupturing of the membrane which will occur if the membrane itself must deflect the blade to a radial position. When one set of blades have separated the meat segments from one of the radial membranes, additional sets of blades are moved down into the grapefruit at preselected positions so that additional membranes are contacted and separated from the meat segments. As a result of the efiicient action of the several blades, the grapefruit is sectionized in a manner that produces well-formed meat segments which are of substantially natural size and contain a minimum of ruptured juice sacs.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of sectionizing citrus fruit, such as grapefruit.

Another object is to provide an improved method of breaking the bond between a meat segment of a citrus fruit and an adjoining radial membrane.

Another object is to provide an improved method of disturbing seeds in a fruit.

Other and further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in conection with the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a grapefruit sectionizing machine adapted to carry out the method of the present invention, with parts broken away.

FIG. 2 is a plan View of the machine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of a portion of the machine of FIG. 2, taken looking in the direction of lines 44 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective of a. portion of the feed turret shown in FIG. 4 with parts broken away and parts shown in section.

FIG. 6 is a reduced fragmentary vertical section taken along line 66 of FIG. 5.

PEG. 7 is a horizontal section taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along line 38 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged elevation of a portion of the transfer turret of PEG. 4 with parts broken away and parts shown in section.

FIG. 10 is a horizontal section taken along line 1tl10 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is an elevation taken looking in the direction of arrows 1111 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 12A is a horizontal section taken on line 12A 12A of FIG. 12.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal section taken along line 1313 of FIG. 11 with parts broken away.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged vertical section taken along line 14-44 of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged perspective taken looking in the direction of arrow 15 of FIG. 13.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken along line 16l.6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged fragmentary plan of a portion of the machine of FIG. 1 with parts broken away.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective of a portion of the first sectionizing head of the present machine, showing the mounting of one blade holder of the head.

FIG. 19 is a perspective of one of the elements of the blade holder of FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a more or less schematic plan View of one blade holder mechanism of one head shown in operative 

1. A METHOD OF SECTIONIZING CITRUS FRUIT COMPRISING THE STEPS OF MAKING A PLURALITY OF CUTS IN AN AXIAL DIRECTION INTO A FRUIT, EACH CUT BEING CLOSE TO THE APEX OF A MEAT SEGMENT CONFINED BETWEEN TWO RADIAL MEMBRANES OF THE FRUIT, EXTENDING EACH CUT LATERALLY IN A DIRECTION SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENT TO A CIRCLE FORMED BY THE CORE OF THE FRUIT TO THE REAR FACE OF AN ADJACENT MEMBRANE AND THEN RADIALLY OUTWARDLY OF THE CORE ALONG THE MEMBRANE TO THE PERIPHERY OF THE FRUIT, MAKING A SECOND PLURALITY OF CUTS CORRESPONDING IN NUMBER TO THE FIRST CUTS AND IN AN AXIAL DIRECTION INTO THE FRUIT, AND EXTENDING EACH CUT TO THE FORWARD FACE OF AN ADJACENT MEMBRANE AND THEN RADIALLY OUTWARDLY ALONG THE MEMBRANE TO THE PERIPHERY OF THE FRUIT.
 6. THE METHOD OF LOOSENING THE SEEDS OF A CITRUS FRUIT COMPRISING THE STEPS OF SUPPORTING A FRUIT IN FIXED POSITION, AND PENETRATING THE FRUIT AND CONTACTING THE SEEDS WITH A GLANCING BLOW DIRECTED GENERALLY AXIALLY OF THE FRUIT BUT HAVING A LATERAL COMPONENT OF FORCE ADAPTED TO SHIFT THE SEEDS LATERALLY AWAY FROM ADJOINING MEAT PORTIONS TO BREAK THE BOND BETWEEN THE MEAT AND THE SEEDS. 